Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds mirrors Mario Kart World's move away from traditional 3-lap races with tracks that put you in a whole "different universe"

Mario Kart World is courting controversy with a new update that makes it even harder to play traditional three-lap races, but Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds has been planning to make a very similar change since the beginning.

Speaking to GamesRadar+, veteran Sonic producer Takashi Iizuka said that early in the development process on Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds, Sega was trying to come up with a fresh new idea for the new iteration. In that brainstorming session, he says, "we had this idea that we've had this three-lap course up until now - it's always once, twice, three times around. What if that's the thing that we change?"

Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds focus is on competitive play | Developer Interview - YouTube

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That idea brought the CrossWorlds team to the concept of its 'travel rings'. These portals allow the racer in first place to select which world the second lap will take place in, before the racers all return to the original track for the final lap. The aim, Iizuka says, is that "instead of racing the same lap around the same course, you're going to a different world, a different universe, a whole different racecourse."

It's an interesting way to change things up, and it's also felt across CrossWorlds' approach to its Grand Prix format. The travel ring means that "we can warp around to different places, we don't need to stay on the same course," so the final race in each Grand Prix will be an amalgamation of the previous races.

It's an interesting new spin on the traditional one-two-three that kart racers have largely relied on for years. It's also part of why Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds can get around introducing characters like Hatsune Miku, and courses based on Minecraft. It might, however, prove to be more controversial than Sega expects - Mario Kart World has just pushed an update that means you're no longer guaranteed to get a regular three-lap race and it seems to be going down quite badly. Granted, that seems to be because Mario Kart is moving firmly away from the traditional three-lap formula, which CrossWorlds isn't doing - you'll just run a different second lap, rather than a whole new race. Still, it makes for a more interesting run-up to launch, especially as Sonic's biggest competition stumbles during its headstart.

Veteran Sonic producer says Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds team completely removed items from the game if they were too "stressful" or let players "win all the time"